Flippable electrical connector

ABSTRACT

A plug for provision of power includes a housing forming a receiving cavity with two opposite sites in a vertical direction which is compatible with a standard plug connector with twelve contacts on each site and a first and second rows of contacts on the sides while in diagonally symmetrical manner. Each contact includes a contacting section, and a connecting section for directly connecting to a corresponding wire. Each row of contacts is categorized with a pair of power contacts, a pair of grounding contacts and a specific contact without any high speed differential pair. Two pair of power contacts of both two rows are electrically connected together either via direct mechanical connection via vertical extensions or via indirect electrical connection via the latch which has a pair of side arms extending into the receiving cavity at two opposite transverse ends.

CROSS REFERENCE TO CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/698,876filed on Apr. 29, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part of theco-pending application Ser. No. 14/667,632 filed Mar. 24, 2015 and Ser.No. 14/558,732 filed Dec. 3, 2014 and further claims the benefit of, andpriority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/002,934, filedMay 26, 2014, No. 62/021,066, filed Jul. 4, 2014, No. 62/026,046 filedJul. 18, 2014, and No. 62/035,472 filed Aug. 10, 2014, the contents ofwhich are incorporated entirely herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and moreparticularly to a flippable plug connector used with a receptacleconnector.

2. Description of Related Art

In the previously filed provisional applications, the plug connector is“flippable” whereas we turn the plug over and it functions the same topand bottom. In order to be able to handle switching of the super speedsignaling, a MUX (or SS switch) is built into the silicon. This can becostly and also cause some additional degradation in the super speedsignals. Recently, a proposal for use with the future USB (UniversalSerial Bus) was presented.

Hence, a new and simple electrical plug connector and the complementaryreceptacle connector are desired to improve those disclosed in theaforementioned proposal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a plugconnector for provision of power, comprises an insulative housingforming a receiving cavity with two opposite sites in a verticaldirection which is compatible with a standard plug connector with twelvecontacts on each site and a first and second rows of contacts disposedon the opposite sides while in diagonally symmetrical manner. Each ofthe contacts includes a front contacting section, and a rear connectingsection for directly connecting to a corresponding wire or via a circuitpad of a paddle card to the corresponding wire. Each row of contacts iscategorized with a pair of power contacts and a pair of groundingcontacts and a CC (Configuration Channel) contacts without any highspeed differential pair.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a plug connector and a matedreceptacle connector on the printed circuit board, of a first embodimentof the instant invention.

FIG. 2 is a front assembled perspective view of the plug connector ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3(A) is a front partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 2 wherein the cover is removed away from theremainder.

FIG. 3(B) is a front partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 3(A) wherein the front and rear over-moldings havebeen further removed.

FIG. 4 is a front partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 2 without the cover thereof.

FIG. 5 is a front partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 4 by removal of additional parts therefrom.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the mated plug connector andreceptacle connector taken along lines 6-6 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7(A) is a front assembled perspective view of a partially assembledplug connector according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7(B) is a rear assembled perspective view of the plug connector ofFIG. 7(A).

FIG. 8(A) is a front partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 7(A).

FIG. 8(B) is a rear partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 7(B).

FIG. 9(A) is a front partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 8(A).

FIG. 9(B) is a rear partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 8(B).

FIG. 10(A) is a front partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 9(A).

FIG. 10(B) is a rear partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 9(B).

FIG. 11 is a horizontal view of a lower portion of the plug connector ofFIG. 7(A).

FIG. 12(A) is an enlarged front perspective view to show how all tencontacts are arranged structurally.

FIG. 12(B) is an enlarged rear perspective view to show how all tencontacts are arranged structurally.

FIG. 13 is a front assembled perspective view of the plug connector of athird embodiment according to the invention.

FIG. 14 is a front partially exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a further front exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16(A) is a further front exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 15.

FIG. 16(B) is a further rear exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17(A) is a further front exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 16(A).

FIG. 17(B) is a further rear exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 16(B).

FIG. 18(A) is a further front exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 17(A).

FIG. 18(B) is a further rear exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 17(B).

FIG. 19(A) is a front assembled perspective view of a terminal moduleassembly of the receptacle connector of a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 19(B) is a front assembled perspective view of a terminal moduleassembly of the receptacle connector of FIG. 19(A).

FIG. 20(A) is a front exploded perspective view of the terminal moduleof the receptacle connector of FIG. 19(A).

FIG. 20(B) is a rear exploded perspective view of the terminal module ofthe receptacle connector of FIG. 19(B).

FIG. 21(A) is a further front exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 20(A).

FIG. 21(B) is a further front exploded perspective view of the terminalmodule of the receptacle connector of FIG. 21(B).

FIG. 22(A) is a front assembled perspective view of a fifth embodimentof the plug connector mounted to the printed circuit board in a dockingmanner.

FIG. 22(B) is a rear assembled perspective view of the plug connector ofFIG. 22(A).

FIG. 23(A) is a front exploded perspective view of the plug connector ofFIG. 22(A).

FIG. 23(B) is a rear exploded perspective view of the plug connector ofFIG. 22(B).

FIG. 24(A) is a further front exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 23(A).

FIG. 24(B) is a further rear exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 23(B).

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of the plug connector taken alonglines 25-25 of FIG. 22(A).

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the laptop computer with a detachabledisplay using the plug connector of FIG. 23(A) on the base and acorresponding receptacle connector on the.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the assembly unit used in the laptopcomputer of FIG. 26 and including the plug connector of FIG. 23(A) andthe corresponding receptacle.

FIG. 28 is the perspective view of the sub-assembly unit used in thebase with the plug connector of FIG. 23(A).

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the plugconnector according to the invention.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the plugconnector according to the invention.

FIG. 31 is an exploded perspective view of the plug connector of FIG.30.

FIG. 32(A) is a further upward exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 31.

FIG. 32(B) is a further downward exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 31.

FIG. 33(A) is a further upward exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 32(A).

FIG. 33(B) is a further downward exploded perspective view of the plugconnector of FIG. 32(B).

FIG. 34(A) is a further front downward exploded perspective view of theplug connector without the cable and the shielding covers thereof.

FIG. 34(B) is a further rearward upward exploded perspective view of theplug connector without the cable and the shielding covers thereof.

FIG. 35(A) is a front exploded perspective view of the terminal moduleassembly of the plug connector of FIG. 34(A).

FIG. 35(B) is a rear exploded perspective view of the terminal moduleassembly of the plug connector of FIG. 34(A).

FIG. 36(A) is a further front downward exploded perspective view of theterminal module assembly of FIG. 35(A).

FIG. 36(B) is a further rear upward exploded perspective view of theterminal module assembly of FIG. 35(A).

FIG. 36(C) is a further rear downward exploded perspective view of theterminal module assembly of FIG. 35(B).

FIG. 37(A) is a further front downward exploded perspective view of theterminal module assembly of FIG. 36(A) wherein the terminals are fullyexposed to an exterior.

FIG. 37(B) is a further rear upward exploded perspective view of theterminal module assembly of FIG. 36(B) wherein the terminals are fullyexposed to an exterior.

FIG. 38(A) is a front downward exploded perspective view of acombination of only the terminal and the latch.

FIG. 38(B) is an upward exploded perspective view of the combination ofFIG. 38(A).

FIG. 38(C) is a cross-sectional view of the combination of FIG. 38(A)

FIG. 38(D) is a cross-sectional view of the combination with theassociated insulator of the terminal module assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 show a plug connector 10 mated with a receptacle connector 50mounted in a notch of a printed circuit board 100. Referring to FIGS.2-5 and further FIG. 6, the plug connector 10 includes an insulativehousing 12 having a capsular front contour with a rectangular receivingcavity 14 therein and enclosed in a metallic shell 16. Opposite upperand lower rows of contacts 18 are disposed in the correspondingpassageways 32 of the housing with corresponding contacting sections 20extending into the receiving cavity 14 wherein the upper and lower rowsof contacts 18 are diagonally symmetrically arranged with each other inboth electrical and mechanical arrangement so as to meet the so-calledflappable mating, i.e., the dual opposite orientations. A pair ofmetallic upper and lower EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) springplates 22 are enclosed in the shell 16, and each of the EMI springplates 22 is sandwiched between the shell 16 and the housing 12 andincludes a front resilient region 24 extending inwardly toward and intothe receiving cavity 14 and in front of the contacting sections 20, arear abutting region 26 to abut against the shell 16, and a pair of sideretention regions 28 retainably engaged within corresponding sideportions of the housing 12. A pair of tapes 30 are disposed upon twoopposite sides of the housing 12 so as to isolate the contacting section20 from the shell 16. A spacer 34 is located behind the housing anddefines a plurality of passages 35 through which the tail sections 21 ofthe contacts 18 rearwardly extend. A recessed region 36 is formed in arear face of the spacer 34 to receive a front edge region of a paddlecard 38 wherein the tail sections 21 of the contacts 18 extendingthrough the corresponding passages 35, are soldered upon thecorresponding pads 37. The spacer 34 forms a forward extending blade 31with a pair of forward protrusions 33 on two sides to be commonlyinserted into a back side of the housing 12 wherein the protrusions 33of the blade 31 are essentially received in the side slots 13 of thehousing 12. A U-shaped metallic latch 39 of a blanking type received inthe side slots 13 of the housing 12 with a pair of locking heads 40extending into the two opposite lateral sides of the receiving cavity 14to lock with the lateral edge sections 67 of the shielding plate 76 ofthe receptacle connector 50 during mating. Understandably, the latch 39is restrained by the blade 31, the comb structures on the blade 31, theprotrusions 33 of the blade 31, the slots 13 and an interior rear faceof the housing 12.

A cable 41 behind the paddle card 38, encloses a plurality of wires 42regulated by a pair of organizer 43 to be soldered upon a rear region ofthe paddle card 38. Via the protrusions and openings (not labeled), anauxiliary rear shell 17 grasps the shell 16 to shield the paddle card38, and a clipper 44 grasps the rear shell 17 and further the cable 41behind the paddle card 38. Opposite front overcoat 45 and rear overcoator strain relief 46 are overmolded upon the rear shell 17 and theclipper 44, respectively. Finally, a cover 47 essentially fully coversthe clipper 44, the front overcoat 45 and the rear overcoat 46. Duringmating, the mating tongue 54 is received in the receiving cavity 14 withthe corresponding contacting sections 60 of the contacts 58 of thereceptacle connector 50 connected to the contacting sections 20 of thecontacts 18 of the plug connector 10 wherein the latch 39 is locked withthe shielding plate 76, and the front resilient region 24 of the springplate 22 contacts the collar 64.

FIGS. 7(A)-12(B) show a second embodiment of the plug connector 510wherein compared with the plug connector disclosed in the previous firstembodiment, the plug connector 510 only provides the power by the lessnumber of the contacts only involved with the power delivery. The plugconnector 510 includes an insulative housing 512 enclosed within ametallic shell 514 and defining a receiving cavity 516. Opposite firstand second rows of contacts 520 only categorized with power contacts,grounding contacts and CC contacts are disposed in the housing 512 withunequal intervals while arranged in a diagonally symmetrical manner withregard to the receiving cavity 516 so as to allow a flippable insertionof the plug connector 510 into the corresponding receptacle connector.Each contact 520 includes a front contacting section 522 and a rearconnecting section 524. The contacting section 522 of each row ofcontacts 520 are categorized with the contacting sections 522G of a pairof grounding contacts 520 commonly sandwiching therebetween thecontacting sections 522P of a pair of power contacts 520 whichsuccessively sandwich a contacting section 522C of a CC (ConfigurationChannel) contact 520 therebetween. Anyhow, via specificallyintentionally switching between the first and second rows, theconnecting sections 524 of the contacts 520 in the first row arecategorized with a pair of intimately side by side connecting sections524G of the grounding contact 520 in the first row and that derived fromthe second row, cooperate with a pair of intimately side by sidecontacting connecting sections 524P of the power contact 520 in thefirst row and that derived from the second row to commonly sandwich aconnecting section 524C of the CC contact 520 derived from the secondrow in a transverse direction. Similarly, the connecting sections 524 ofthe contacts 520 in the second row follow the same rule. Notably, ineach row the connecting sections 524 of both the power contacts andgrounding contacts 520 are spanned in one transverse direction whilethat of the remaining the CC contact 520 is spanned in an oppositetransverse direction. It is also seen that in this embodiment the pairedgrounding contacts 520 have the corresponding contacting sections 522Gspaced from each other in a vertical direction while having thecorresponding connecting sections 524G intimately side by sidecontacting each other in the transverse direction perpendicular to saidvertical direction. And the power contacts 520 are as well.

An insulative spacer 530 is located behind the housing 512 with oppositesurfaces 532 on which the corresponding connecting sections 524P, 524Gand 524C are exposed. The insulative spacer 530 comprises a frontsection 5301 retained with the insulating housing and a rear flatportion 5302 behind the insulative housing 512, the rear flat portion5302 defines a top surface and a lower surface, the connecting sectionsof the two rows of contacts embedded in the rear flat portion 5302 andexpose to the upper and lower surface of the rear flat portion 5302 tobe directly soldered to wires of a cable 540. The cable 540 is locatedbehind the spacer 530 and includes four power wires 542, two groundingwires 544 and one CC wire 546 wherein the four power 542 wires aresoldered to two pairs of connecting sections 524P in a one-to-onerelation, each of the two grounding wires 544 is soldered to one of thepair of connecting sections 524G on the corresponding surface 532. TheCC wire 546 is soldered to either one of the connecting sections 524C onthe spacer 530. In brief, on each surface 532, there are five connectionsections 524 including a pair of intimately side by side arrangedconnecting sections 524G and a pair of intimately side by side arrangedconnecting sections 524P and a connecting section 524C therebetween inthe transverse direction. And on one surface 532, two power wires 542are soldered upon the corresponding pair of connecting sections 524P,one grounding wire 544 is soldered upon one of the pair of connectingsections 524G, and the CC wire 546 is soldered upon the correspondingconnecting section 524C. Similarly, on the other surface 532, there aretwo power wires 542 and one grounding wire 544 are soldered unto thecorresponding connecting sections 524P and 524G while no CC wire 546 isavailable thereon. Understandably, via the connecting sections 524offset, in a vertical direction, from the corresponding contactingsections 522 in some contacts 520, the corresponding wires 542, 544, 546may be simplified and easily organized and soldered to the correspondingconnecting sections 524G, 524P and 524C, respectively.

Similar to the first embodiment, a pair of spring plates 550 areassembled to the housing 512 with spring tangs 552 extending into thereceiving cavity 516 for coupling to the corresponding receptacleconnector. A H-shaped metallic latch 560 is assembled to the housing 512with a pair of locking heads 562 located at a front portion andextending into the receiving cavity 516 for latching to thecorresponding receptacle connector, and a pair of connecting tails 564located at a rear portion and extending through the spacer 530 andrespectively located on two opposite surfaces 532 for connecting to thebraiding of the cable 540. Notably, different from the front lockingheads 562 are located at the same plane, the rear connecting tails 564are offset from each other in the vertical direction for respectivelymounted to the opposite surfaces 532 of the spacer. Clearly, in thisembodiment, because only the power/ground/CC contacts are disposed inthe housing 512, the paddle card is omitted but replaced with the spacerfor supporting the connecting sections 524 of the contacts 520 fordirectly soldering to the corresponding wires in an organized manner.

Referring to FIGS. 13-18(B) showing a third embodiment of the plugconnector 510 a, which is similar to the second embodiment with tinydifferences. Different from the previous second embodiment, in thisembodiment the contacts 520 essentially only has twelve pieces includingthe power contacts, the configuration channel, the grounding contactsand optionally the low speed differential pairs without the super speeddifferential pairs. A paddle card 590 is horizontally positioned behindthe spacer and includes a plurality of front circuit pads 591 on thefront edge region to be soldered with the tails 524 of the correspondingcontacts 520, and a plurality of rear circuit pads 592 on the rear edgeregion to be soldered with the inner conductors 5451 of thecorresponding wires, respectively. The feature of the embodiment is toarrange the rear circuit pads (as labeled 592P) for the power contactson one surface of the paddle card 590 while those (as labeled 592G) forthe grounding contacts on the other surface thereof. Notably, in thisembodiment, the three grounding wires are diametrically smaller than thetwo power contacts. On other hand, the front circuit pads 591 are stillaligned with the corresponding power and grounding contacts 520 in thefront-to-back direction without shifting. Understandably, in thisembodiment the cable only contains the power wires and the groundingwires to mechanically and electrically connect to the corresponding rearpower circuit pads 592P and the corresponding rear grounding circuitpads 592G. Anyhow, additional lower speed differential pair wires may becontained to be electrically connected to the low speed differentialpair contact via the paddle card 590 optionally. A metallic shell 514encloses the housing 512, and a pair of metallic covers 581, 582 aresecured to each other and commonly sandwich and retain the assembledhousing 512, the shielding shell 514 and cable to form a subassembly. Aninner overmolding part 588 encloses the subassembly and an outerovermolding part 589 encloses the inner overmolding part 588 whileexposing the front mating port and the rear cable extension. In thisembodiment the spacer 530 further forms a lateral extension 531 to bereceived in a corresponding recess 5821 of the cover 581, 582 forprecisely positioning the covers 581, 582 with regard to thesubassembly. The metallic shell 514 defies a rear retaining portion5141, one of the cover 581, 582 defines a pair of front retainingportion 5811 on lateral sides thereof which are fitly embracecorresponding portion of the rear retaining portion 5141 of the metallicshell 514. The covers 581, 582 further defines a pair of retainingplates 5812, 5822 being soldered to corresponding portion of the rearretaining portion 5141. The pair of front retaining portions are alsosoldered to the rear retaining portion 5141.

FIGS. 19(A)-21(B) shows a fourth embodiment of a plug connector 300.Compared with the typical plug connector disclosed in the firstembodiment, the plug connector 300 has a less number of contacts 310 foronly transmitting the relatively low speed signals and grounding andpower while lacking the super speed signal transmission. In thisarrangement, the paddle card may be omitted and the wires are directionconnected to the tail sections of the contacts 310 for saving moneyconsideration. In general, the plug connector 300 includes an insulativehousing 320 enclosed within a metallic shell 322 and defining areceiving cavity 324 therein. A metallic latch 326 is assembled to thehousing 320 with locking heads extending into the receiving cavity 324in the transverse direction. A pair of spring fingers 328 are assembledto the housing 320 with contacting sections extending into the receivingcavity 324 in the vertical direction. A pair of tapes 330 covers thecorresponding spring fingers 328 for isolating the spring fingers 328from the shell 322. Different from the plug connector in the previousembodiment, in this embodiment the upper terminal module 340 includes anupper insulator 350 with one five contacts 310, instead of twelvecontacts 310, being integrally formed therewith and the lower terminalmodule 342 includes a lower insulator 360 with only seven contacts 310,instead of twelve contacts 310, being integrally formed therewith. Thecontacts 310 comprises contacting section 311 extending into thereceiving cavity and tail sections 3102 embedded in rear flat portions351, 361 of corresponding insulators. The rear flat portions 351, 361 ofthe upper and lower insulator are disposed behind the insulative housing320. The tail sections 312 of the upper and lower contacts are exposedon a top surface of the rear flat portions 351, 361 of the upperinsulator and a lower surface of rear flat portions of the lowerinsulator to be directly soldered to the corresponding wires of thecable. The upper and lower insulators 340, 342 comprises a retaininghole 3411/3511 and a retaining post 3512/34121 fitly engaged with eachother to assembled the upper and lower terminal module together, onfront flat portions 352, 362 thereof. The front portions of the upperand lower insulators are retained in insulative housing. Notably, usingthe paddle card can have the fine pitch of the tail sections of thecontacts for connection. Differently in this embodiment, because ofomitting the paddle card, the tail sections 312 of the contacts 310 arerequired to be directly soldered to the corresponding wires and thus isdesired to be enlarged in width and fanned outwardly for compliance withthe wire dimension/position for soldering consideration; in fact, thewidened tail sections 312 take/occupy the original space of those of theomitted contacts on the insulator 350, 360 so as to allow the whole setof the plug connector 300 to keep the similar transverse dimension ofthe insulators 350, 360 as original for miniaturization considerationadvantageously. Notably, in each contact 310 the offset section 314between the tail section 312 and the contacting section 316 is retainedby the corresponding insulator and also occupies the original space ofthe omitting neighboring contacts. As a result, the contacting sections316 of the existing contacts 310 are exactly positioned at the rightplace in compliance with the full featured receptacle connector formating and the tail sections 312 may easily comply with thecorresponding wires for soldering advantageously. Clearly, each contact310 includes a barb structure 318 in front of the offset section 314 toretain the corresponding contact 310 within the corresponding passagewayin the housing 320.

Referring to FIGS. 22-28, according to a fifth embodiment of theinvention, the plug connector 200 includes an insulative housing 202with a metallic shell 204 attached thereon. The housing 202 has a baseportion 206 with a main portion 208 extending therefrom on the middleregion so as to form a pair of side wings 210 with corresponding throughholes 212 extending therethrough. The main portion 208 is similar to thehousing 12 and forming a receiving cavity 214 with two rows of contacts216 by two opposite elongated sides. A pair of EMI spring plates 218 arepositioned upon the main portion 208 and extend into the receivingcavity 214, and a pair of insulative tapes 221 are positioned upon thecorresponding EMI spring plates 218 for isolating the EMI spring plates218 from the metallic shell 204. Understandably, similar to the firstembodiment the plug connector 200 also includes the side latch to engagethe shielding plate in the mating tongue of the corresponding receptacleconnector. The metallic shell 204 includes a main section 220 with apair of side arms 222 by two sides, and each side arm 222 forms athrough holes 224 therein. Notably, the main section 220 encloses themating portion 208, and the pair of side arms 222 cover the pair of sidewings 210 with the corresponding through holes 212 and 224 aligned witheach other in the mating direction.

Referring to FIGS. 23-25, the laptop computer 230 includes a base 232and a detachable display 234. The base 232 includes a rotatablesubassembly 236 pivotally mounted at a longitudinal side while thedisplay 234 includes a securing section 238 on the correspondinglongitudinal side thereof. The plug connector 200 is mounted to aprinted circuit board 235 of the subassembly 236 in a floating manneralong the mating direction via a pair of springs 240. The subassembly236 also includes a pair of latches 242 retractably moveable in thetransverse direction along the longitudinal side for locking to thesecuring section 238 of the display 234. The corresponding receptacleconnector 244 is located on the securing section 238 of the display 234for mating the plug connector 200.

FIG. 29 shows another embodiment of the flippable plug connector 10′which is adapted to mate with the receptacle connector disclosed in thesecond embodiment which the metallic shield forms a plurality of springtangs thereon. The recesses 101 are adapted to receive the apexes of thespring tangs during mating. Understandably, on the other hand, thespring tangs may be formed upon the exterior surface of the plugconnector, and the metallic shield of the receptacle connector may formthe corresponding openings therein to receive the apexes of thecorresponding spring tangs. Under such a situation, the outer metallicbracket, which is soldered upon the metallic shield, may cover theopenings for EMI shielding.

FIGS. 30-38(D) shows another embodiment of the plug/cable connector withthe corresponding terminals arranged in a diagonally symmetrical mannerso as to be used with a flippable way, wherein the plug/cable connector700 includes an insulative housing 702 enclosed within a metallic shell701 and defining a mating cavity 704 to receive a mating tongue of thecomplementary receptacle connector, and a plurality of passageways 706located beside the mating cavity 704 in a vertical direction. A pair ofspring plates 710 are attached to the housing 702 with spring tangs 712extending into the mating cavity 704. An insulative tape 714 is attachedupon the housing 702 to isolate the corresponding terminals from themetallic shell 701 (illustrated later). A terminal module assembly 720with terminals and metallic latch are inserted into the housing anddefines a cable supporting platform 735 with opposite first supportingsurface 7351 and second supporting surface 7352. The first supportingsurface 7351 is exposed with a pair of signal soldering legs S(D), onepower soldering leg S(P) and one grounding soldering leg S(G) which aresoldering connecting with corresponding wires W(D), W(P), W(G) of thecable 800. The second surface 7352 of the solder platform is locatedwith an addendum power soldering leg S(P′) and a detect soldering legS(CC), which two are soldering connected with each other via a resisterR. It is understandingly, all the soldering legs of the terminals aredisposed on a same surface and the detect construct constructed by theaddendum power soldering leg S(P′) and a detect soldering leg S(CC) ofthe terminals are on another same surface, so as to facility thesoldering process of the soldering legs and the wires of the cable 800.

A terminal module assembly 720 includes opposite upper and lowerterminal modules 722 and 724 commonly sandwiching an H-shaped metalliclatch 726 therebetween in a vertical direction. The metallic latchincludes a pair of side arms 7261 with locking headers 7262 and a pairof tail sections 7263. The upper terminal module 722 includes an upperinsulator 728 integrally formed with a plurality of upper terminals 730via the insert-molding process, and the lower terminal module 724includes a lower insulator 732 integrally formed with a plurality oflower terminals 734 via the insert-molding process. The upper and thelower terminals 730, 734 includes front contacting sections 7301arranged on opposite sides of the receiving cavity 704 and tail sections7301 embedded in the corresponding insulators. A pair of posts 736 ofthe lower insulator 732 are received within the corresponding holes 738in the upper insulator 728. The lower insulator 732 further includes araised block 740 received within the corresponding notch 742 of theupper insulator 728 wherein contacting sections (labeled as D+, D-) of aspecific pair of lower terminals 734 extend upward and join, at a samelevel, the contacting section of the upper terminals 730 via supportingof the block 740. In a detailed description, in the upper terminals 730are categorized with a pair of grounding terminals G, a pair of powerterminals P and a CC terminal while the lower terminal 734 are similarlycategorized with a pair of grounding terminals G, a pair of powerterminals P, a Vconn terminal and a pair of signal terminals D+/D−.Notably, the signal terminals D+/D− are the aforementioned specific pairof lower terminals 734 which are supported by the raised block 740. Thetail sections 7302 of the corresponding power terminals P, the groundingterminals G and the signal terminals D+/D− are labeled as T(P), T (G)and T (D). Each of the tail sections 7302 is embedded in the insulator.As shown in FIG. 36(B), the tail sections T(P), T(G) of the upper powerterminal P and the upper grounding contacts G expose to a lower surface7281 of the upper insulator 728, i.e, the tail sections have oppositetwo faces and the lower face 7303 expose to the lower surface 7281 ofthe lower insulator 728. As best shown in FIG. 36(C), the tail portionsT(P), T(G), T(D) of the lower power terminals P, the lower groundingterminals G and the signal terminals D expose to an upper surface 7321of the lower insulator 732, i.e, the tail section has two oppositefaces, the upper face 7304 expose to the upper surface 7321 of the lowerinsulator 732 and some lower faces 7305 expose to the lower surface 7322of the lower insulator 732 to provide said soldering legs S(P), S(G),S(D) connecting with the wires of the cable. The lower surface of theupper terminal module and the upper surface of the lower terminal moduledefines recesses 7326 to receive the pair of tail sections of themetallic latch. The upper and lower terminal module 722, 724 areassembled together to be the terminal module assembly 720, wherein theupper and lower power terminals are mechanically connecting with eachother via the tail sections thereof, i.e, the two faces 7303, 7304 ofthe tail section are abutted against each other in the verticaldirection), the upper and lower grounding terminals are mechanicallyconnecting with each other via the leg sections thereof and the metalliclatch. The terminal module assembly 20 are then inserted in theinsulative housing 702 so as to defines said supporting platform 735behind the insulative housing as best shown in FIG. 34(B), the uppersurface of the upper insulator is serviced as the first supportingsurface 7351 and the lower surface 7322 of the lower insulator 732 isserviced as the second supporting surface 7352.

This embodiment is to have the corresponding grounding terminals Gintegrated with one another, and have the corresponding power terminalsP integrated with one another. It is noted that to ease the solderingbetween the solderable tail section T(P), T(G) and T(D) of thecorresponding lower terminal 734 and the latch 726 or the tail sectionof the corresponding upper terminal 730, the lower insulator 732 forms asoldering platform 733 to retain the tail sections T(P), T(G) and T(D)of the corresponding lower terminals 734 in a coplanar manner, i.e.,having the similar thickness thereof. Notably, as shown in FIGS.38(A)-38(D), the two power upper terminals 730/P are joined together bysharing the same tail section T(P) via a first bridge 7391, and the twopower lower terminals 734/P are also joined together by sharing the sametail section T(P) abutting against the aforementioned tail section T(P)of the upper power terminal 730 p so as to have those four powerterminals electrically joined as one piece and one tail section exposedto the first supporting surface as the one power soldering leg S(P). Onthe other hand, the grounding upper terminals 730/G downwardly abutrespectively against the two corresponding tail sections 7262 of thelatch 726, and the grounding lower terminals 734/G sidewardly abutrespectively against the two corresponding tail sections 7262 of thelatch 726 so as to have those four grounding terminals electricallyjoined together and one tail section exposed to the first supportingsurface as the one grounding soldering leg S(G). As shown in FIGS. 35(B)and 38(D), some tiny slits S are intentionally formed between the tailsections T(G), T(P) and the soldering platform 733 so as to allow thesolder material to be filled therein to join the corresponding tailsections T(P) of the upper terminal 730 and the lower terminal 734, andto join the corresponding tail sections T(G) of the lower terminal 734and the latch 726, and the tail section T(G) of the upper terminal 730and the latch 726 when a soldering process is applied through a hot bar.

One feature of the invention is to have the wire W(P) for power, thewire W(G) for grounding, and the wires W(D+)/W(D−) for signal aresoldered upon the tail sections T(P), T(G) and T(D)s on the same bottomside for simplifying the manufacturing process compared with theprevious embodiment shown in FIGS. 7(A)-12(B) in which the correspondingfour wires are soldered upon two opposite sides of the terminal module.Anyhow, two pairs of the grounding terminals are unified together andtwo pairs of the power contacts are unified together are requiredaccording to the standard specification. The instant embodiment and theprevious embodiment are used to implement such a request. Optionally,the resistor R is adapted to be soldered between the upper terminal CCand the power upper terminal 730/P on the other side. The four wires arejoined within a cable 800. A pair of metallic covers 802 are assembledupon the rear side of the shell 701 to shield the exposed wires andprotect the soldering thereabouts. An insulative cover 804 areovermolded upon the metallic covers 802 and integrally joined with thecable 800 to finalize the whole product.

However, the disclosure is illustrative only, changes may be made indetail, especially in matter of shape, size, and arrangement of partswithin the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plug connector for connecting with a cable,comprising: an insulative housing forming a receiving cavity; an upperterminal module including an upper insulator insert molded with aplurality of upper terminals, the upper terminal comprising a pair ofupper power terminals and a pair of upper grounding terminals; a lowerterminal module including a lower insulator insert molded with aplurality of lower terminals, the lower terminals comprises a pair oflower power terminals and a pair of lower grounding terminals; ametallic latch comprising a pair of front side arms extending into thereceiving cavity and a tail section; the upper and lower terminalscomprising front contacting sections arranged on opposite sides of thereceiving cavity and tail sections embedded in the correspondinginsulators; wherein the tail sections of the upper power and groundingterminals expose to a lower surface of the upper insulator; the tailportions of the lower power and grounding terminals expose to an uppersurface of the lower insulator; wherein the tail sections of upper andlower power terminals are confronted with each other one by one, thetail sections of the upper and lower grounding terminals are confrontedwith each other after the upper and lower terminal module are insertedin the insulative housing to define a supporting platform behind theinsulative housing; wherein the supporting platform defines oppositefirst supporting surface and second supporting surface, wherein thesecond supporting surface of the solder platform is located with anaddendum power soldering leg and a detect soldering leg, which two areconnecting with each other via a resister, the upper terminal module isinsert molded with a detect terminal, the detecting soldering legextends from the detect terminal.
 2. The plug connector as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the supporting platform defines tine slits near to thetail sections of the power terminals and grounding terminals so as toallow solder material to be filled therein when a soldering process isapplied through a hot bar to join the corresponding tail sectionstogether.
 3. The plug connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein themetallic latch is sandwiched between the upper terminal module and thelower terminal module, one tail section of the upper and lower powerterminals exposing to the first supporting surface of supportingplatform is provided as a power soldering leg for connecting with apower wire of a cable, one tail section of the upper and lower groundingterminals exposing to the first supporting surface of the supportingplatform is provided as a grounding soldering leg for connecting with agrounding wire of the cable.
 4. The plug connector as claimed in claim1, wherein the lower surface of the upper terminal module and the uppersurface of the lower terminal module defines recesses to receive thepair of tail sections of the metallic latch.
 5. The plug connector asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of upper power terminals areunified by a first bridge portion, the pair of lower power terminals areunified by a second bridge portion.
 6. The plug connector as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the lower terminal module comprises a pair of adjacentsignal contacts, the tail sections of the signal contacts expose to thefirst supporting surface of the supporting platform to be provided assignal soldering legs for connecting with a pair signal wires of thecable, the signal soldering legs are located between the groundingsoldering leg and the power soldering leg.
 7. A plug connectorcomprising: an insulative housing forming a receiving cavity; a terminalmodule assembly retained in the insulative housing and defining acable-supporting platform behind the insulative housing, the terminalmodule assembly comprising an upper terminal module and a lower terminalmodule; the upper terminal module including an upper insulator with aplurality of upper terminals, the upper terminal comprising an upperpower terminal and an upper grounding terminals; the lower terminalmodule including a lower insulator insert molded with a plurality oflower terminals, the lower terminals comprising a lower power terminaland a lower grounding terminal; wherein after the upper and lowerinsulator are assembled together, the upper and lower power terminalsare integrated with one another and provided with only one powersoldering leg on a first supporting surface of the cable-supportingplatform, and the upper and lower grounding terminals are integratedwith one another and provided with only one power grounding solderingleg on the first supporting surface; wherein the second supportingsurface of the solder platform is located with an addendum powersoldering leg and a detect soldering leg, which two are connecting witheach other via a resister, the upper terminal module is insert moldedwith a detect terminal, the detecting soldering leg extends from thedetect terminal; wherein tail sections of the lower terminals areexposed to an upper surface of the lower insulator and disposed acoplanar manner, tail sections of the upper power terminal and uppergrounding terminals are directly or in directly connecting withcorresponding lower power and grounding terminals.
 8. The plug connectoras claimed in claim 7, wherein the lower terminal module furthercomprises a pair of signal terminals, contacting sections of the signalterminals extend upwards and join contacting section of the upperterminals at a same level via supporting of an insulative block.
 9. Theplug connector as claimed in claim 7, wherein the upper terminal modulefurther is insert molded with a detect terminal, the terminal modulecomprises a contacting section extending into the receiving cavity and atail section exposed to a second supporting surface opposite the firstsupporting surface; a portion of the upper power terminal exposes to thesecond supporting surface and the portion of the upper power terminaland the tail section of the detect terminal are connected with eachother by a resister.
 10. A plug connector adapted for connecting with acable; a housing defining a front receiving cavity and a rear supportingplatform with opposite first and second supporting surfaces; a pluralityof upper terminals and lower terminals, comprising contacting sectionslocated at opposite sides of the receiving cavity and soldering legsexposed to the supporting platform; wherein the first supporting surfaceis at least located with a power soldering leg and a grounding solderingleg; the second supporting surface is at least located with a detectsoldering leg; wherein the second supporting surface of the solderplatform is located with an addendum power soldering leg and a detectsoldering leg, which two are connecting with each other via a resister,the upper terminal module is insert molded with a detect terminal, thedetecting soldering leg extends from the detect terminal; wherein thefirst supporting surface further is located with a pair of signalsoldering leg, the second surface is further located with an addendumpower soldering leg, the addendum power soldering leg and the detectingsoldering leg is soldered with a resister; further including a metallicshell fitly enclosing the housing.